


slowly erode 'til there's nothing left

by paddyfields (lucitae)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, oh my god they were roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:48:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26912425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucitae/pseuds/paddyfields
Summary: It all begins with your skin is awful and Shirabu Kenjirou’s desire to prove Sakusa Kiyoomi wrong. Which is probably how they fall into a routine of Kenjirou with his hands folded on his chest as Sakusa lies next to him on Kenjirou’s bed.alternatively, the and they were roommates. oh my god, they were roomates au
Relationships: Sakusa Kiyoomi & Shirabu Kenjirou, Sakusa Kiyoomi/Shirabu Kenjirou
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	slowly erode 'til there's nothing left

**Author's Note:**

> 10/10 means sakushira day
> 
> you can't get more self indulgent than this

> If you want me like that, that's who I'll be  
>  If you love me right back, I could be anything

[Erode](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UGYwc__aFI) — TENDER

It all begins with _your skin is awful_ and Shirabu Kenjirou’s desire to prove Sakusa Kiyoomi wrong. Which is probably how they fall into a routine of Kenjirou with his hands folded on his chest as Sakusa lies next to him on Kenjirou’s bed. Identical masks weighing on their faces, heavy liquid trying to seep into skin. Kenjirou’s bangs are pushed up by a fluffy headband that was once Sakusa’s. Kenjirou knows Sakusa well enough to know that Sakusa will never want it back now. The day Kenjirou joined his skincare regimen was the day Sakusa parted with this pastel pink striped one.

It’s silent, as usual. The only sound is the exhale of breath. Kenjirou closes his eyes.

Sakusa’s arms is pressed against his. Kenjirou’s bed is far too small for two college boys but Sakusa doesn’t want the sticky mess of hyaluronic acid and other components to drip onto his sheets. And since Kenjirou mooched off of Sakusa for the first few weeks...

He’s paid him back in full though. And it’s been months before they arrived at this tenuous whatever this is between them. But he doubts anyone else would allow him to monopolize the television for every one of Ushijima’s games. Let alone join him.

So Kenjirou lets Sakusa. Just like how he allows himself to take his mind off the load of text books on his desk and succumb to a short nap.

Kenjirou stirs at the sensation of cool air — of his face being exposed from beneath the warmth of the mask. He opens his eyes and catches Sakusa in the middle of gently peeling the mask away from his face.

Sakusa’s has been discarded. Probably the moment his timer went off. The clips hold his hair out of his face. The light from the window casts a sheen onto his skin.

For a brief moment their eyes meet.

Kenjirou shuts his eyes.

A pair of hands gently pat his face for the skin to absorb the serum.

They don’t talk about it. They never do. Just one of those things that _is_.

The crowd erupts into a cheer. Their university has won their home game. Sakusa’s wicked spin had landed in the back corner untouched, perfectly threaded between two players. The corner of Kenjirou’s lips twist as he watches Sakusa dodge his eager teammates trying to high five him.

The crowd slowly filters out. The teams have just about finished their cool down. The captain loudly announces celebratory team dinner. Player wearing number 4 laughs, throwing an arm around the captain and boasts about how their stingy captain is finally treating everyone so everyone better show up. Kenjirou’s chin rests in the palm of his hand andhides his knowing smile behind his fingers. Sakusa looks up and towards the stands. Kenjirou holds his gaze before standing up and draping his jacket over his arm.

Kenjirou glances at the time on his phone. Lifts his head when a shadow falls over him seconds later.

The zipper on Sakusa’s jacket is zipped up to the very top. The familiar mask covering his lower face. Kenjirou slips his phone into his pocket as their paces fall in sync.

Ten minutes later Sakusa’s phone will blow up with messages. Maybe a phone call or two when the team realizes he’s slipped away. By then Kenjirou and Sakusa would have already been seated at the yakiniku place they go to whenever Sakusa is in the mood after a good game.

Sakusa turns his phone off and flips it over as Kenjirou orders their usual selection of meats.

Once upon a time, there was a clear demarcated line on the grill. Two separate orders of meat and three pairs of tongs. One for Kenjirou, two for Sakusa because the one that flips raw meat cannot be the same one that deals with cooked meat. They ate whatever was on their side in silence.

It’s still quiet. The sizzling of meat is the loudest from their table, drowned out by the other restaurant occupants and their chatter.

Kenjirou flips the chicken over, then switches to the other tong to place the freshly grilled slice of beef onto Sakusa’s plate. He switches back to even both sides of another slab of meat.

Sakusa’s chopsticks pick up the beef and goes into his mouth without question. Unlike before, there is no furrow of skin between brows. Unlike before, Sakusa no longer hesitates. Unlike before, there are no boundaries or lines on that grill.

Sakusa refills Kenjirou’s glass of water. Kenjirou nods his head in thanks.

“Have you thought about next year?” comes as a surprise. Kenjirou looks up at Sakusa the moment Sakusa offers him a piece of pork.

“Living arrangements,” Sakusa explains.

For a moment Kenjirou wonders how Sakusa would react if he said _I assumed we would live together_. Would frown lines appear on his face indicating disgust? Would his face remain neutral with only the slightest shift in his expression, a little bit of light in his eyes?

“Takahashi asked me to consider splitting the rent with him next year,” Kenjirou says instead, studying Sakusa’s expression. It would be fine to live with another medical student except: “he has no regard for personal space. I’ve seen him use his roommate’s bed as his own with a dismissive _oh he won’t mind_. Didn’t even change into clean clothes. So I turned him down.”

Silence returns. Kenjirou is unable to discern whether or not there’s been a change in Sakusa’s expression and pops the meat into his mouth after asking: “what about you?”

It’s cooked to perfection. It always is.

Sakusa’s hands are still. Chopsticks in hand, perfectly parallel.

“I was wondering,” it comes out a little stilted. “If you were willing to keep things as they are.”

It’s Kenjirou’s eyes that widen. At least his jaw doesn’t drop. He had assumed that Sakusa would prefer to live alone.

Kenjirou sips water, clears his throat, before saying “sure.”

Another slice of meat, another offering. Kenjirou takes it.

This tentative thing between them has no name. Kenjirou isn’t foolish enough to think of them as friends. Takahashi, who catches them that evening, seems to think of them as something more. But at the end of the day, they are just roommates.

Even when Sakusa’s hand lies between Kenjirou’s as Kenjirou flexes Sakusa’s wrist. Thumb tracing the route of the median nerve and outlining the thenar eminence.

**Author's Note:**

> title taken from [erode by tender](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UGYwc__aFI). with special thanks to [hq rarepair quote bot ](https://twitter.com/hqpairquotes)


End file.
